Ex-Liverpool star returning the favour as Klopp set for £10m transfer windfall
What do fans love more than an underdog story? A comeback one.
This Premier League season is full of them. Ross Barkley, Jonny Evans, Gary O'Neil and now Ivan Toney, but the most prolific of all comes on the south coast: Dominic Solanke. Five years on from his £19million move from high-flying Liverpool to top-half-chasing Bournemouth, the 26-year-old is finally showing why the Reds weren't willing to totally cut ties with him and why Anfield bigwigs made sure to benefit from his eventual breakout.
In January 2019, with Liverpool embarking on their incredible Champions League -winning campaign in which they almost grabbed the Premier League title, too, Solanke was sold to Eddie Howe's Bournemouth, who spotted in the striker what many had seen from a young age.
After all, Solanke had been at Chelsea in his youth, but his first-team career at Stamford Bridge would ultimately be confined to a 17-minute cameo off the bench in a Champions League group stage game. Liverpool then signed him at the end of his Chelsea contract in June 2017, stumping up a tribunal-set fee of £3m.
Solanke had to wait until the final day of the 2017-18 season to score his first goal under Jurgen Klopp, getting in on the act when Liverpool beat Brighton 4-0 at Anfield. After a frustrating first half of the following campaign, Solanke wanted more game-time after accumulating 27 appearances over 18 months - most of which were as a substitute - but the Reds were reluctant to offload him.
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The Reading-born forward had still enjoyed working with Klopp, as he revealed to Goal in 2021: "It was really good. What he's done is phenomenal. I was there to witness the transition that he made in the squad. He really cares about his players and he’s moulded them into winners."
A half-season loan to Crystal Palace was lined up, but Bournemouth came along as the new year dawned and made Liverpool an offer which they couldn't refuse. While pocketing an impressive £19m fee, Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards made sure to insert a buy-back clause so that if Solanke proved himself at the Vitality Stadium, the Reds would be able to welcome him back.
Also included was a sell-on clause, one which the Liverpool Echo report is worth a chunky 20 per cent. Now half a decade on from Solanke swapping the River Mersey for the English Channel, the Reds are in line to reap the rewards.
Dominic Solanke only scored one goal in 27 games for Liverpool (John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)As Solanke prepares to face Klopp and co on Sunday amid his stellar campaign of 12 goals in 19 Premier League games, which also included an assist in the reverse fixture, speculation is simmering over his future. In December, the Daily Star reported that title chasers Arsenal had identified him as an alternative to No.1 target Toney, who's currently proving too expensive.
Unsurprisingly, Bournemouth are aware of the interest in Solanke and value him at £50m. Should someone cough up that fee, then Liverpool would be due a cool £10m.
West Ham are also admirers of the hard-working No.9, who enjoyed a decent end to last season under O'Neil but has risen to new heights under his successor, Andoni Iraola. The Athletic Bilbao legend got off to a slow start on the south coast but has now guided the Cherries to a stunning seven wins in their last nine games.
Your turn! Which club should sign Dominic Solanke? Give us your verdict in the comments section.
Jurgen Klopp saw potential in Dominic Solanke (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
They'll meet again on Sunday at 4:30pm (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)Their most eye-catching result came away to Manchester United, winning 3-0 as Solanke opened the scoring with only five minutes on the clock. That prompted ex-United and England midfielder Owen Hargreaves to back to Bournemouth's talisman for a move to Old Trafford.
"I would take him at United, all day." Hargreaves told Premier League Productions. "At Chelsea, he was the prized academy player. He went to Liverpool with that brilliant front three. That generational front three. He was never going to break into that.
"But I think he would have learnt and been mentored from [Roberto] Firmino, [Sadio] Mane and [Mohamed] Salah. We saw it with Wilf [Zaha] when he went to Manchester United. He wasn't ready. He was too young.
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"I think now Solanke, he will get another big move. Whether it's Man United or not. But to get a kid that big and technically that good, who is smart enough, can run the channels and press. He will get another chance at the top, I am certain."
Andoni Iraola has gotten the best out of Bournemouth and Dominic Solanke (Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)Another crack at a top club would be deserved, but how about an England call-up? Only Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland have scored more goals than Solanke this term, while he betters next-best English striker Ollie Watkins by three and remains one ahead of winger Jarrod Bowen.
The latter pair are expected to be part of Gareth Southgate's squad for Euro 2024 in Germany, and so will Solanke if he keeps up his form. "It's absolutely not too late," ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton recently told the Daily Mail's podcast, It's All Kicking Off. "Why should it be too late when you look at Solanke?
"Not just his goals, but his all-round performances this season. We know about Bowen, we know more about Watkins, but this has been a sort of bugbear of mine. Why not play players in big tournaments when they are flying, when they are in form?
"But we know Gareth is a stickler, and he's loyal, and there's a lot of good things about loyalty, but there is an argument that he's not adventurous enough. He doesn't roll the dice enough."
A stickler he may be, but plenty of Premier League managers aren't and could make a move ahead of the summer. Howe, now in charge of Newcastle, is keen to work with Solanke again but admits that his club can't afford him, despite their Saudi Arabian riches.
"[It's] a frustrating story for me," the Magpies boss recently confessed. "I love Dominic Solanke, I signed him and I rate him very, very highly. But we have not made an enquiry for him and we don't have the ability to sign a player of that level."
As for what Iraola has said, the Spaniard admitted on Friday that he has "no power" in the situation, but made a prediction on Solanke's future. "We have an opinion [on whether we want to keep them]," Iraola bemoaned to reporters. "There are always negotiations and if someone meets the expectations of the club then... But the expectations are really high so I don’t think that will be happening.
"[For example] I think Solanke will stay, but I can’t guarantee 100 per cent. He’s happy and performing well and everyone is happy with him. It would take something unnatural for him to leave. That is the same with the best players we have, and we know their worth and we appreciate them."
That renewal came in September, keeping Solanke with the Cherries until 2027. As far as Liverpool are concerned, that only increases his value ahead of seeing him again on Sunday, when Klopp and co will be hoping for a rare off-day.
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